


Homecoming

by Happy45



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: BFFP, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy45/pseuds/Happy45
Summary: Stella's suspicious, Matt's jealous and Sylvie is just glad he's home.BRETTSEY SEPTEMBER PROMPT CHALLENGE
Relationships: Sylvie Brett & Matthew Casey, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 36
Kudos: 159





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my entry to the September Brettsey prompt challenge. It's set around August 2020 - so just before season 9 begins.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

**Homecoming**

Stella was curious. Or maybe, _suspicious_ would be a better word. She’d been suspicious for a few months now, but she hadn’t shared how she was feeling with anyone. Instead, she chose to be patient and observant. She needed her suspicions to become cold, hard, _facts_ before she did anything about it.

It was nearing the end of August in Chicago, and it had been a busy summer for Firehouse 51, especially with people coming and going on furlough. Severide and Kidd took a few weeks off in June, Hermann took a few in July to go on vacation with his family, Brett took the last week in July and the first week in August and Casey had been gone for almost the whole month. He’d stocked up so much furlough time that he could afford to take longer off than usual. Severide figured that over the past few years, he used work as a distraction from all the chaos of his life. Between Gabby leaving and his apartment being destroyed, taking a vacation alone was the last thing he wanted.

But something changed. Stella wasn’t quite sure what, but it was something. Something changed in Casey’s life that meant he _wanted_ to take a furlough – and Stella had an idea about what it was.

That was where Sylvie came in. Stella sat at the common room table, staring at her as she perched at the top of the table – in Casey’s usual seat. He liked to sit at the head of the table and do paperwork in the afternoons. But Casey wasn’t here. He hadn’t been here for a few weeks now and Sylvie had sat in his seat every day he had been gone. It was like she was keeping it warm for him or something.

Stella was convinced that something had changed in Sylvie too. Julie’s death had been a devastating blow for the paramedic, and she hadn’t been her normally optimistic self over spring time. But then summer came and Sylvie starting walking around 51 with a spring in her step. She was back to being her normal, bubbly self – perhaps even more so than usual – and Stella had noticed. She _always_ noticed. There wasn’t anything in 51 that went by her.

_Except for this_.

She couldn’t _quite_ crack this one.

All she knew was that Brett and Casey had a new lease of life, and she had a funny feeling it had everything to do with each other.

“Hey, Brett?” Stella began as Sylvie looked up from her book and smiled at her.

“What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you’d seen the Captain at all recently?” she asked slowly. She wanted to test the waters on this one without completely outing them.

Sylvie looked at Stella, the confusion written all over her face. “Captain Morrow?” she asked, assuming Stella was referring to Casey’s temporary replacement on truck.

“No, no, _Casey_ ” Stella clarified, already kicking herself for messing up this interrogation that Brett didn’t _realise_ was an interrogation.

“He’s on furlough…” Sylvie reminded her, as if was the most obvious thing in the world. Stella smirked lightly to herself. She evaded the question. She was trying to get Stella to think that Sylvie hadn’t seen Casey because he was on furlough, but she was _not_ falling for that one...

“You didn’t answer my question…” Stella countered with a raised eyebrow.

Sylvie leaned forward on her arms to speak quietly to Stella, “What is up with you? You’ve been acting shifty for weeks now.” Sylvie observed. It turned out that Stella wasn’t the only one who was suspicious. Sylvie wasn’t blind to the weirdly intense looks Stella had been giving her. It was like she was so desperately trying to work something out, but just _couldn’t_. It was like she was trying to get inside Sylvie’s head and uncover her secrets.

And Sylvie would never give _that_ secret up.

Not _yet_ anyway.

“Your furlough overlapped with Casey’s for a week.” Stella stated as Sylvie slowly nodded her head.

“Yeah, it did… it’s not that unusual to have overlapping furloughs with someone in the summer.” Sylvie said with a little laugh as she leaned back in her chair.

“It is when the two people in question have been making doe eyes at each other for the better part of two years.” Stella blurted out as Sylvie’s mouth fell open slightly.

Stella closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. _Cover blown_.

But then again – maybe this could be what Sylvie needed to confess.

Before Sylvie could reply, the front doors to the lounge opened and none other than Captain Casey walked in.

“Captain, you’re back!” Mouch exclaimed enthusiastically from the couch. “We thought you wouldn’t be back until next shift.”

Matt shrugged, “I got tired of fishing.” That was partly true. He was tired of fishing - but he missed something in Chicago more.

Stella watched as everyone in 51 moved towards Matt to greet him and hear about his furlough – everybody but Sylvie that was. She stayed put in the seat at the head of the table, just watching as the others spoke to him.

Stella turned to Sylvie; “Are you not going to go say hi?” she challenged.

Sylvie quirked a brow, “Are _you?_ ” she challenged.

Stella opened her mouth to respond, but she had nothing. She hadn’t moved from her seat either, so she had no leg to stand on. She quickly shut her mouth with a sigh as Sylvie smirked back at her. She felt kind of guilty for messing with her friend, but she was also having a _heck_ of a lot of fun.

Stella turned round just as Matt walked over to the table.

“Welcome back Captain” Stella greeted. “How was your break?”

Matt thought about his response for a few moments before he shoved his hands in his pockets, “Productive.”

Stella narrowed her eyes. “How so?”

Matt shrugged before he caught Sylvie’s eye at the end of the table, “I just got to do some things I’ve been meaning to do for a while.”

Suddenly, Sylvie choked on her coffee, causing Stella to jump slightly as she threw her some napkins.

“Wow, you good?” she asked her friend as Sylvie continued to cough before nodding her head and giving her a thumbs up.

Stella looked between Brett and Casey, her suspicions growing more and more. What was so weird about what Casey said that made Brett _choke_?

“She’s just happy to see me, that’s all.” Matt teased as Sylvie playfully rolled her eyes. Asshole clearly thought he was hilarious making a hidden dirty joke right in front of Stella. Brett and Casey certainly did a _few_ things they'd wanted to do for a while...

“Yeah, that’s it…” she joked along. “Welcome back Casey” she said sincerely as Matt smiled and silently nodded his head in acknowledgement.

As Stella sat seething with suspicion in her chair, a man Matt wasn’t familiar with walked into the lounge.

“Captain Casey. I’m Captain Morrow, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting yet” Morrow said as he held out his hand for Casey to shake. He was a youngish guy, maybe in his mid-thirties, dark hair, dark eyes and well-built. He also had one of those blindingly dazzling smiles that Matt figured got him whatever he wanted.

“It’s nice to meet you, thank you for looking after truck while I was gone.” Matt said politely. While he hadn’t met Morrow before, he’d heard a few things about him. He seemed like a stand-up smoke eater and that’s all he really wanted for truck.

“It’s no problem, 51 is a great house to be working at.” Morrow replied. “Honestly, I’m a little sad to leave. I’ll certainly miss some people.” He said as he flashed a glance in Sylvie’s direction – a glance that didn’t go unnoticed my Matt.

Matt briefly looked back at Sylvie and saw that she was too engrossed in her book to notice the look Morrow just gave her. He quickly snapped back into reality and awkwardly cleared his throat, “I’m sure you’ll be missed around here too.” He replied, almost a little reluctantly. With the looks he was giving Sylvie, he couldn’t _wait_ for him to get out of here.

“Yeah, yeah… excuse me.” Morrow said as he moved past Matt, clearly not even remotely interested in catching up with the Captain anymore.

Matt clenched his jaw and caught Stella staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at her and frowned. “… what?”

“Nothing.” Stella replied quickly. “It’s just… you look kind of _mad_.” She observed, as Matt immediately softened his facial expressions. He didn’t even realise his face was giving away his thoughts right now. Maybe he didn’t have as good a poker face as he thought he did.

“Hey Brett” they heard Morrow greet as their attentions turned to the interaction at the end of the table.

Sylvie smiled, “Captain Morrow. I guess you’ll be leaving us now.”

He nodded, “Yeah I just need to square a few things up with Captain Casey and then I’ll be on my way.”

“Well it was nice having you here” she said kindly. She always liked to make everyone at 51 feel welcome. This place had quickly become her home and if someone could experience even a fraction of the love she felt here, she would make sure it happened whenever she could.

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you… I was actually wondering something else though” he added with a lopsided smirk. Stella swore she heard Casey scoff lightly at the smirk. They guy was _clearly_ turning on his charm and Casey was having _none_ of it. She filed that away as further evidence that something what happening with Brett and Casey right under their noses.

“Oh yeah?” Sylvie asked, hoping this wasn’t going where she had a feeling it was.

“Yeah… I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink sometime?” he asked hopefully, but with a certain flair of confidence in his voice. It was evident that he hadn’t been rejected too often in his life.

“Uh… as friends?” she queried with a gulp, feeling three sets of eyes burning on her, waiting to see her response.

Morrow chuckled, “No, no – a date. I would like to take you on a date.” He clarified.

_“Oh”_ Sylvie said, her voice awkwardly going up an octave. “I’m flattered, really, I just—” she began, but Morrow cut her off.

“Just – think about it. Here’s my number” he said as he left a piece of paper on the table beside her. “I’ll look forward to your call.” he added with an overly confident grin before turning back to Matt. “Sorry Captain, we should get this hand over sorted now.” Morrow instructed as Matt reluctantly nodded his head.

“Yeah, let’s go to my quarters” he said through his teeth as he and Morrow walked over of the room.

Sylvie watched them as they walked away – and of course Stella was watching Sylvie intensely to see if she gave anything away. As soon as Casey and Morrow were out of sight, Sylvie turned back to her friend to see she was once again carefully studying her.

“Is there anything else you’d like to get of your chest today Stella?” Sylvie asked her sweetly.

“Oh it’s not a big deal” Stella said as she waved her hand and sat forward a little. “I’ve just known Casey for a while now and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as jealous as he just was…”

Sylvie didn’t really know what to say. Of course she’d noticed Matt’s clenched jaw and his hands stuffed in his pockets. She always noticed him and his little quirks. Sylvie closed her book and stood from her chair, “Whatever you say Stella…” she merely replied with a wink before walking away.

Stella knew in that moment that her instincts were totally on the mark.

Something was happening with Brett and Casey – and she couldn’t wait until it was out in the open.

* * *

By late afternoon, Matt was beyond frustrated. He spent all morning with Morrow and by the time he was done, the bells went off for ambo and continued to go off for the rest of the day. Every time they pulled into the apparatus floor, they were gone again.

When they finally returned and got a moment of quiet, Matt had some meetings with Boden to make sure he was up to speed with anything he had missed. He always forgot what a drag the first day back after furlough was. Though, he hadn’t had a proper furlough in a few years. He’d never wanted to. He figured it wasn’t such a good idea to be left alone with his thoughts for a few weeks.

But not this year.

This year, things had changed. _He_ had changed – and it was all because of her.

Matt made his way back to his quarters in the hopes of sneaking in a quick power nap before dinner. He closed the door behind him and was about to throw his papers down on the desk when he saw something sitting on it. He took a small step closer before a small smile rose on his face.

It was a chocolate chip cupcake.

He lifted it and swiped his finger through the icing before tasting it. Man, it was good. He heard the door open and close behind him as he turned to look at the figure that was now leaning against his door.

“This is some good icing.” He complimented.

“Well I know chocolate is your favourite. I couldn’t resist getting you a little homecoming present.” Sylvie said with an innocent shrug.

Matt walked towards her with a smug smile on his face. He towered over her before he reached behind her and quickly pulled the blinds. This was a private moment he wanted to have with her and her alone.

Once they were closed, he looked down at her captivating blue eyes shining up at him. She lifted her hand and gently ran it over his cheek and under his jaw.

“I miss your furlough beard.” She told him as he grinned at her. “But I am glad to have Captain Casey back. It’s been a long few weeks without you. I was worried we’d lose you to fishing forever.” She joked.

_“Never”_ he said as he lifted his hands to frame her face before swooping in and kissing her. It was insistent and deep and spoke to how much he had missed her over the past few weeks.

Just before Sylvie had taken her two weeks of furlough, things had fallen into place with Matt. After everything that had happened over the past year, they’d realised that life was unfairly short and there was no point wasting time not being with the people that you love.

The first night of Sylvie’s furlough, Matt showed up at her door with a whole speech planned about how much he adored everything about her – but he didn’t get to say it. Not initially anyway. Sylvie let him into her apartment, and he said:

_“When you said goodbye to everyone this morning when we were leaving 51 – it only took me ten seconds to realise that I would miss you more than anything. Even if you were only gone for two weeks. I don’t miss someone who is just a friend like that.”_

Sylvie didn’t know what came over her in that moment. It was like all walls she had built up to protect herself from falling too hard for Matt disappeared and all it took was for him to say he missed her. It was really that simple and she cursed herself for not realising it sooner. It didn’t have to be complicated because it _wasn’t_ complicated. She loved him and she was done denying her feelings. She stepped forward and kissed him – and it was the best kiss she’d ever had. It was _the_ kiss, it was the _right_ kiss. It was the kiss they’d _both_ waited so long to find.

The rest was history. They spent the next two weeks of Sylvie’s furlough together. The first week had been interrupted by Matt’s shifts, but the second week was all theirs as Matt’s furlough started too. They shut themselves off from the world and they never felt happier than being in each other’s arms. When Sylvie went back to work, Matt went on his fishing trip, feeling more alive and in love than ever. They also made a note to make sure their next furloughs synced up for more than a week.

Matt pulled back from their kiss in his quarters and Sylvie kept her eyes closed for a few moments. She’d almost forgotten how earth shatteringly good it could feel to kiss him.

“What was that for?” she asked in a barely there voice as she finally opened her eyes and saw him beaming back at her.

“I’ve missed this.” He said as he affectionately ran his hand over the front strands of her hair. It had become a motion of comfort between them, but also a motion of love.

“This?” Sylvie questioned.

Matt nodded as he moved his hands to her arms, allowing her to loop her arms around his waist “Being with you, holding you, kissing you. It feels like a lifetime.”

Sylvie chuckled, “You saw me two weeks ago.” She reminded him.

“Two weeks is a long time when you’re hopelessly in love with someone.” He replied as he kissed down her jaw. “And there’s also the Morrow thing…” He grumbled into her neck as Sylvie pulled back, her mouth slightly agap.

“I _knew_ it, you were jealous.” She challenged as Matt furrowed his brow in classic Casey fashion.

“A little… the only person who should be asking you out around here is _me_.” He said in a jokingly stern voice.

“Well it’s a good thing that you’re the only person I want asking me out then.” She assured him as she quickly kissed him. “Though Stella is definitely on to us…” Sylvie told him. It wasn’t that they didn’t want people to know about them, but they were just enjoying this time together without any other prying eyes.

Matt shrugged, “Let her be suspicious. Right now – I just want to enjoy coming home to you.”

Sylvie’s face softened as she stared up at him. She'd never looked at a person and seen home before. But looking at him right now, she knew he would be exactly that for the rest of their lives - and she could _certainly_ get used to it.


End file.
